(Leslie M. Alexander) A firestorm of controversy has swirled around Nate Parker and his film The Birth of a Nation in the two months since several media outlets revealed that Parker and his co-author, Jean McGianni Celestin, stood trial for raping a young woman in 1999. Across the country, social media lit up as people debated Parker’s guilt, questioned whether to boycott the film, and expressed outrage about violence against women. As the storm raged, however, one critical issue went ignored. No one questioned the fundamental value or quality of the film. Based on the standing ovations it received at the Sundance Film Festival, we assumed that The Birth of a Nation was inherently valuable, inspirational, educational, and transformative.

We were wrong.

The Birth of a Nation claims to tell the true story of Nat Turner, leader of the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history. A film on Turner is long overdue, and as a professional historian of the black experience in the nineteenth century, I have anxiously awaited one. I was especially encouraged by September’s issue of Vanity Fair, in which Parker stated that he had become “obsessed with the idea of telling Nat Turner’s story” and that he sought to create “historical fidelity in his depiction of the leader of the rebellion.”

After attending an advance screening of the film, however, I now know that Parker failed miserably in his mission. Contrary to his promises of “historical fidelity,” Parker created a deeply flawed, historically inaccurate movie that exploits and distorts Nat Turner’s story and the history of slavery in America. Nearly everything in the movie—ranging from Turner’s relationship with his family, to his life as a slave, and even the rebellion itself—is a complete fabrication. Certainly the film contains sprinklings of historical fact, but the bulk of Parker’s story about the rebellion is fictitious: Nat Turner did not murder his owner, nor did he kill a slave patroller. Turner’s rebellion was not betrayed by a young boy, or by anyone else involved in the revolt.

As I scrolled through my Facebook news feed, I discovered the following artworkhere, being shared by the page, “The Abolitionists Movement,” and originally posted it to my own wall, along with commentary…

“Murder is still murderKidnapping is still kidnappingAnd, theft is still theftRegardless of the costume you wear”

“10 Things to Use to Make You a Better Human1. Self Ownership2. Natural Law3. The Non-Aggression Principle4. Consent5. Using Conscience at All Times6. All Interactions Must be Voluntary7. Only Self Authority is Inherent to Humans8. Truth & Freedom Come Before Family Obligations9. Positive Rights Are Not Inherent to Humans10. No Ruling Class, Society, & Collective Can Provide ‘Justice,’ ‘Morality,’ or Protection, as These Are Owned, Individually”

Living in Modern Times: oh? please explain the universal nature of evil, Joseph H.

Jeff R.: You don’t understand the universal nature of good.

Joseph H.: Everyone is sinful and everyone is capable of evil. Radicals always make the same basic, fatal mistake. They want to overturn an established flawed
order and replace it with What they think is a utopia. They don’t see that
they are subject to the same faults as the rulers they replaced. It happened in the French Revolution and in the Russian Revolution. A bloody, sadistic regime replaced a long established monarchy. Power corrupts and unless you have something to balance that, you’ll be corrupt too.

Rayn: Reality does not tend to agree with the highly cynical notion that humanity needs to be ruled over by morally-bankrupt criminal scum. And, the Statists currently denying our natural right to live, to own ourselves, and to peacefully co-exist are simply those who wish to violate them, by way of robbery, slavery and/or murder – either directly, or through violent, coercive proxy (church, state, etc). This is typically done while espousing the usual brand of illogical superstition, replete with “original sin/presumed guilt/pre-crime/chaos” myth about the inherent “evil/cruelty/disorder” of humanity.

Of course, I reject such cult-like nonsense, as it is absolutely illegitimate. Not only have I personally met more kind and caring souls than I can count, I also recognize every human being as a UNIQUE, SOVEREIGN INDIVIDUAL – to be judged ONLY by the merits of their OWN character! As far as I’m concerned, assigning humanity with labels fit for criminals is merely an excuse for the corrupt and polluted souls among us to collectively oppress and punish us all for crimes we haven’t even committed, in an effort to catch a boogie man that lives no further than the nearest MIRROR! Besides, biology, itself, does NOT support the “freedom is slavery” double-think mentality of such control-freaks, no matter how many clever excuses they come up with in order to justify their lust to harm and enslave others: